Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
Bobo the King wrote:
Being a libertarian must be quite a miserable existence. You believe that nearly everyone in power is "evil" (your own word) and out to get you, just because they can.
I consider myself to be a libertarian, and I really don't see why you would believe it to be miserable. I don't really believe in widespread conspiracy, I just think that the government has no business censoring media, regulating gay marriage, or preventing the populous from buying guns.
There is a wide gap between libertarian ideology and conspiracy theory.
And a nearly infinite percent chance more to become infected with measles, mumps and rubella.
People are quick to forget just how miraculous vaccines actually are.
Ever know anyone crippled by polio? Or that died of smallpox? Writing off all vaccines because of some stupid bullshit spread by Jenny McCarthy based on dubious evidence is downright idiotic.
nfq wrote:
Usually anything that is unnatural is unhealthy to eat, which includes fluoridated water, because water isn't naturally fluoridated. If nature/evolution meant that we should drink fluoridated water, the water in nature would already be fluoridated, and our bodies would have been adapted to it.
http://cs-ds.org/history.asp#fluoride
It does occur naturally, in the exact spot I am typing this response.
The fact something is "natural" does not mean that it is good for you, or that we can "adapt" to it. Hemlock grows naturally all over the world, and it is fatal if you eat enough of it, and some drinking water is naturally high in lead and arsenic.
nfq wrote:
Food found in nature isn't washed by default either. Does that mean it's safer not to wash it?
Blood transfusions never occur in nature either, but if you really need one, it can extend your life expectancy from dying in the next 10 minutes to dying in the next 70 years.
"Natural" is not a synonym for "safe" or "healthy". Sometimes the best thing for your health is to rely on modern medical science, not some new age tripe that insists that we should try to live more like people from the Neolithic era who had a life expectancy of 20.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
What I really want to know is why people hate on the FDA so much. Granted, they have the inefficiencies and backward practices that are typical of government organizations, but what they do is critical.
We have the FDA to thank that the antacid (or whatever) you buy has had to undergo trials to prove both that it is safe, and their claims that it works have been substantiated.
The fact that someone has devised a new medication and had to prove that it was safe and effective before being allowed to market it is a good thing. We can argue the specifics all day, but the point remains that having a government organization that has the power to stop some quack from peddling false hope is a good thing.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
Derakon wrote:
A cure isn't outside the realm of possibility.
The point he was trying to make (I think) is that cancer is a large class of diseases, and can not be cured categorically. A "cure for cancer" would be like saying a "cure for viruses". Any cure might work on some cancers, but probably wouldn't work on others.
Just as there are no antibiotics that can cure all bacterial infections, there will be no universal cure for cancer.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
Dada wrote:
Can anybody think of other ways to make me feel old?
Kids entering high school were born after the Nintendo 64 came out.
Also, Yes vote. I was another who thought 8 hrs was too much to sit though, but I found it entertaining on the whole.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
DarkKobold wrote:
I'd also say the popularity of Halo makes this statement completely invalid:
Warp wrote:
FPS games in a game console are not fun for casual playing.
I think the opposite is true. FPS on consoles is only fun casually. The moment you try to take it half way seriously, you realize that you are hamstrung by the abysmal controls.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
It does seem that math requirements are being reduced, even from college level course work. Many engineering majors offer "methods" classes in place of taking calc 3, which teaches use of major specific software.
I think its a bad idea to reward pople for not understanding math.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
Punchout:
one hand tied behind my back: Beat Tyson using only left handed punches.
Sting like a bee: Have every takedown be the result of a super punch.
Destroyer: win every fight by KO.
Beat the spread: win every fight within the first round.
Bear the bull: Defeat bald bull without landing a single hit except to stop bull charge.
Take it on the chin:Win all fights in the minor circuit without dodging, blocking or ducking, except when exhausted.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
That is the exact kind of thing that can not be proven. Even if it was blinked into existence one afternoon, there would be no way of know if god was behind it. If it was proven that it formed over centuries through physics and whatnot, there would still be no way of knowing if god was the guiding hand behind it.
If you mean the "world" is the more abstract sense, then it becomes impossible to even define what you really mean by "created". Kuwaga is right, and it is an utterly pointless argument. Neither side is even looking for the same sort of "proof", so any attempt to "prove" it only serves to impress people who already agree with you.
Also: old as the internet itself, just stumbled upon the burgess calls again.
They should team up with those nut-jobs from Darkon to see if between the lot of them, they can hold one normal, grounded, fantasy-free conversation.
I would find it funny if they "super heros" have a better then 1:1 ratio between crimes they actually helped with to crimes they became the victim of. think about it: man who thinks he is batman vs. crazed, possibly drug addled psychopath?
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
I don't know if I have ever laughed harder than the time Simpson's said "I hope you had as much fun watching this cartoon as the Koreans did animating it"
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
Is the randomness the same every reset? The implication is that this is optimal because it would be impossible to get an ideal set of room/person/weapon without loosing frames, but would this be the case regardless of the seed? Or is there no seed for this game?
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
I like the change.
Does look funny though, seeing sami's run published with only 2 nods of approval!
I don't know why you changed this back, but I think it was a good move.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
I really don't think that banjo kazooie is a good candidate for a star. It was reasonably entertaining, but the 100% condition made the thing drag at times.
I would prefer that the punchier of the two stay starred.